Resilient structure for chairs and the like



1933. F. .LTRAKNOR RESILIENT STRUCTURE FOR CE-{AIRS AND THE LIKE Filed July 5, 1932 IIIVEIYTO Fll'x J. Trainer,

Wit/w Attained;

Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNITED "STATES PATENT OFFICE FELIX J. TBAINOR, OF NEW CASTLE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO TRAINOR NATIONAL SPRING COMPANY, OF NEW CASTLE, INDIANA, A CORPORATION Application mea m s, 1932. Serial No. 620,819.

This invention relates to the art of furnie ture and articularly to' a chair or the like having a exible, elastic frame. It is a primary object of my inventlon to construct a chair or bench to give an action approach ng that of the ordinary rocking cha1r but which will not have curved rockers. A prlmary object of the invention also is to provide a cha1r of the above indicated nature in which the base or floor contacting members are stralght and initially in full contact with the floor.

A still further importantobject of the 1nvention is to provide a structure in whlch the person sitting thereon may cause the structure to conform to his desired sitting positlon by merely leaning back or may rock to and fro as desired all without any tendency of the structure to tend to tip over backwardly or to pitch the person forward. A st1ll further important object of the inventlon 1s to provide a resilient frame to secure comfort not heretofore available and to do so with the maximum safety as well as cheapness 1n cost of production.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent to those versed in the art by the following description of one particular form of the invention as illustrated by the accompanyingdrawing, .in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a structure embodying my invention,

Fig. 2, a front elevation, and o Fig. 3, a fragmentary top plan vlew. I

Likecharacters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views in the drawing.

I form a pair of flat somewhat elongated runners 10 and 11 out of spring steel stock, the thickness for one particular size of chair being three-sixteenths of an inch. These runners are made to be straight so as to be in contact throughout substantially their entire length with the floor. For the purpose of finish or appearance, the rear endsmay W formed to have eyes 12 although the runners may be left plain asdesired. The forward end of each runner is curved slightly upwardly and fixed thereto respectively are the lower ends of the legs 13 and 14. These legs are made out of fiat bar spring steel stock,

preferably somewhat lighter than that of the runners and have 8 curves 15 formed therein immediately above their connections with the runners.

The upper ends of the legs 13 and 14 are curved around rearwardly and arched downwardly somewhat to form side rails across which the seat slats 16 are placed and secured thereto. U-sha-ped sprin members 17 and 18 are placed respectively etween these side rails and the runners 10 andll thereunder to have their open ends turned forwardly and secured rigidly to the rails and runners.

to the seat rails and runners determine to quite an extent the action to be obtained of contact with the seat rails above. While the lower ends of these spring members thus contactthe runners, these lowerends are secured to the runners somewhat ahead of their initial contact therewith. Preferably the runners are spaced horizontally further apart than are the seat rails and a tie 19 is employed .to have its ends resting on the top sides of the lower ends of the spring members 17 and 18 to be rigidly united thereto so as to rigidly space apart the two runners. A back is formed to have a fiat band 20 of spring steel secured to the rear ends of the seat side rails to extend'upwardly and backwardly somewhat to curve around with a form fitting horizontal portion between which portion and the back slat of the seat is placed a panel 21.

Arm rests 22 and 2-3 are mounted on bands of spring steel 24 and 25 which are pressed edgewi'se against the under sides of the rests to' have their rear ends carried around and secured to the back sides of the downturned portions of the band 20 while the forward ends curve downwardly and thence inward- The points of attaching these ends 7 without load are vertically disposed 1y to be secured against the under sides of the respective seat rails. Angle brackets 26 are secured to these bands 24 and 25 as a means of contacting the rests thereto.

The action of the chair in use is indicated somewhat by the dash lines in Fig. 1 wherein it is shown that under load the spring members 17 and 18 will be compressed somewhat to allow the side rails of the seat to bend downwardly about the upper ends of the legs 13 and 14 and if the person in the seat leans backwardly, the spring members 17 and 18 will tend to roll back into further contact with the runners 10 and 11 while the forward ends of the runners bend upwardly away from the floor, the rear ends of the runners always remain in contact with the floor in a straight line position. The S curves 15 while largely provided for the sake of appearance afford some additional resiliency between the runners and the legs. Also the rear part of the seat may spring downwardly .to have the rails come into further contact with the springs 17 and 18 since the rear part of the seat is in reality supported in a cantilever manner. Since the arm rest support bands 24 and 25 are connected to the back and to the side rails near their forward ends, backward movement of the back will tend to pull up on the forward ends of the seat rails and thus tend to lift the front ends of the runners 10 and 11. Since the side rails of the seat, the spring members 17 and 18 and the runners 10 and 11 are each and all made out of spring steel, the members will return to their initial normal positions as indicated by the solid lines upon the weight being removed from the chair. Since the runners 10 and 11 are alwaysin contact with the floor throughout the major parts of their lengths, there is no tendency of the chair to crawl or travel over the floor although the seat may be rocked vigorously.

While I have attempted to describe the operation of the individual members of the chair, the action of each member is in fact limited by the action of the adjacent attached member so that each and all of the members cooperate one with the other to give a total'resilient and elastic action. The various members are made out of relatively thin steel so that the total combined weight of the chair or unit does not exceed that of the usual chair of other construction of substantially the same size. While it would be possible to make the legs 13 and 14 integral with the runners 10 and 11, I have here shown them as separate members for the reason that I find it entirely practical to make the legs and seat rails out of lighter stock than is employed in the runners 10 and 11.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in more or less minute detail it is entirely obvious that structural changes mav be made such as in the back. arm rests and seat construction which may be upholstered if desired, all without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I therefore do not desire to be limited to that precise form except as may be required by limitations imposed by the followlng claims.

I claim:

1. In an article of furniture, a pair of elastic runners normally substantially horizontal contacting with the floor, a pair of substantially normally vertical legs secured respectively by their lower ends to the forward ends of the runners, seat rails running rearwardly from the legs, and a U-shaped elastic member between and secured by its ends to the respective runners and seat rails on each side.

2. In an article of furniture, a pair of elastic runners normally substantially horizontal contacting with the floor, a pair of substantially normally vertical legs secured respectively by their lower ends to the forward ends of the runners, seat rails running rearwardly from the legs, and a U-shaped elastic member between and secured by its ends to the respective runners and seat rails on each side, and a cross tie between the runners at the ends of said elastic members.

3. In an article of furniture, a pair of elastic runners normally substantially horizontal contacting with the floor, a pair of substantially normally vertical legs secured respectively by their lower ends to the forward ends of the runners, seat rails runnmg rearwardly from the legs, and a U-shaped elastic member between and secured by its ends to the respective runners and seat rails on each side, said U-shaped members being turned to have their ends directed forwardly whereby compression of the members will tend to bring a greater portion thereof into contact with the runners back of the connecting points therewith.

4. In an article of furniture, a pair of parallel arranged elastic runners normally substantially horizontal contacting with the floor, an elastic leg substantially normally vertical secured to each of the runners at their forward ends, elastic seat rails running rearwardly from the legs, and an elastic U- shaped member between each rail and the runner thereunder, the ends of the members being secured to the rails and runners forwardly of the rear ends thereof.

5. In an article of furniture, a pair of parallel arranged elastic runners normally substantially horizontal contacting with the floor, an elastic leg substantially normally vertical secured to each of the runners at their forward ends, elastic seat rails running rearwardly from the legs, and an elastic U- shaped member between each rail and the runner thereunder, the ends of the members being secured to the rails and runners forwardlv of the rear ends thereof, a back secured to the seat rails, and arm rest supports interconnecting the back and the seat rails, the forward ends of the supports being secured to the rails ahead of the ends of said members. a a

6. In an article of furniture, a pair of normally straight horizontal elasticgrunners contacting the floor, a seat above the runners, front legs substantially normally vertical fixed between the seat and the runners and curved rear seat support members fixed between the seat and the runners, said runners being yieldingly pulled upwardly by their front ends to wrap against the said members upon the rearward tilting of the seat.

7. In an article of furniture, a pair of normally strai ht horizontal elastic runners contacting the oor, a seat above the runners, front legs substantially normally vertical fixed between the seat and the runners and curved rear seat support members fixed between the seat and runners, said runners being yieldingly pulled upwardly by their front ends to wrap against the said members upon the rearward tilting of the seat, said seat rails being elastic and tending to bend downwardly against said members under load to be reinforced thereby.

8. In an article of furniture, a pairof normally straight horizontal elastic runners contacting the floor, a seat above the runners,

front legs substantially normally vertical fixed between the seat and the runners and curved rear seat supporttmembers fixed be tween the seat and runners, said runners being yieldingly pulled upwardly by their front endsto wrap against the said members upon the rearward tilting of the seat, said seat rails being elastic and tending to bend downwardly against said members under load to be reinforced thereby, said members being elastic and essentially U-shaped with their ends forwardly directed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

FELIX J TRAI OR. 

